How to Make Homemade Bird Food + Simple Homemade Bird Feeders

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Backyard bird watching is fun for the whole family. Make it even more enjoyable by making homemade bird food for your backyard birds! You can even make homemade bird feeders to go with your homemade bird seed mix.

I love feeding the birds in our backyard. During the winter, I love knowing that we can provide them a source of food and the pops of color against the wintry white backdrop is beautiful.

But feeding them during springtime and early summer is even better. Because a lot of our birds migrate for the winter, we don’t see as much variation during the colder months. When spring returns though, the bright primary colored birds return. I could probably spend hours staring outside, waiting for them to show up.

While bird seed can be somewhat inexpensive if you wait around for the right deal, I’ve actually found it’s cheaper to make your own homemade bird food. Not only is it less expensive, but you can also customize it to the types of birds you want to attract.

If you’re wanting to make your own homemade bird food, there’s a good chance you already have everything you need (and even a simple bird feeder!)

There’s no specific formula – it all depends on what your birds in your area like. Test out a few things and see what they like!

If you’re looking for a basic bird seed blend to start with, you could start with a simple homemade bird food recipe that consists of:

1 cup of whole wheat flower

1 cup corn meal

1 cup of sunflower seeds

Seeds from one watermelon

Just combine all of the ingredients together and then store until you’re ready to add it to your bird feeder! (Consider these bird seed dispensers for storage!)

How to Make Simple Homemade Bird Feeders

Now that you have your own homemade bird food blend, it’s time to offer it to your neighborhood birds. If you don’t already have a bird feeder, there are several ways to make homemade bird feeders with simple materials.

Pine Cone Bird Feeder

Spread peanut butter on a pinecone and roll it in bird seed mix. Use string to hang it up outside. This is an easy and fun activity for kids, too.

Plate Bird Feeder

Use macrame style tying or carefully drill small holes in a glass plate to hang it up outside. Just keep the bird feeder filled with birdseed.

Toast Bird Feeder

Toast bread until it is very dry and spread it with peanut butter on both sides. Apply peanut butter and then dip in birdseed so that the entire surface is covered. Carefully punch a hole in the bread with a small utensil and hang it up outside with string. The birds will devour the whole thing!

Benefits of Attracting Birds to Your Yard

There are many reasons to enjoy having wild birds in your yard. Here’s why you should attract them:

Birdwatching is educational. Wild birds are beautiful, and learning to identify them can be a great educational experience for people of all ages.

The sounds of birds are relaxing and stress-relieving. It’s one of the most widely reported sounds to be calming and relaxing, enjoyed by people all over the world.

Birds eat pests. Many eat mosquitos and garden-enemies like aphids, so they serve as a natural pest killer – no toxic chemicals needed!

Weed control. Birds will eat many seeds that might otherwise take root and grow into weeds in your yard.

Wildlife conservation. Creating a safe, attractive environment for your local native wild birds helps preserve the ecosystem in a time when many habitats are at risk of damage and destruction.

Ashley lives in a small-town in Wisconsin on her homestead with her husband, dog, and infant daughter. Attachment parenting is her jam and animals (especially furry ones) are her weakness. Eco-friendly living is a passion of hers, whether it's through her travels or through her bath and body business The Gnarly Whale. She strives to live intentionally and spends most of her days surrounded by family, food, and the great outdoors.

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